Seeking Freedom and Revenge
by AlcatrazDGold
Summary: 100 years since the last Pirate King. 100 Years. No matter the generation after none could follow in the foot steps of the crews of old. The world settled down once more after the Great End War. The New World Government and the Yonko are still at war with no end in sight and nobody is a single step closer to finding that mysterious treasure. Until Now. (SYOC)
1. Chapter 1 - The Captain

**Chapter 1 - And you are?**

* * *

The clear blue seas shifted gently, rocking the small boat that sailed along it. The sun stood high above the sea, indicating it was mid-day. The blistering heat is beamed down would make it uncomfortable for almost anyone caught in it, the only thing that made it bearable was the cooling sea breeze. The squeaking of seagulls in the sky being among the few noises of the sea, along with the swooshing of the waves against the wooden planks of the small boat.

And yet, laying inside the small boat sailing carelessly toward where its next destination may lie was a young man. He lay relaxing on the tiny deck of the ship, feet up on the railing, his leather outbackers hat covering his face from the sun, completely oblivious to the world around him.

The young man in the ship remained oblivious to his surroundings, he dismissed the chirps of the seagulls above and the waves picking up slightly to even recognize he was close to land. With his current heading he was going right toward an island a mere kilometer away. How careless.

It was a few moment before the small boat came to a sudden halt as it hit the shoreline going full speed. The sudden impact threw the young man on deck forward to the bow, catching himself before he smacked off anything although his hat went tumbling across the deck, finally getting him to react to anything.

He peered over the railing to see he had run aground on whatever island this may be, "Well shit, I wasn't expecting to make land today." He said, rather uncaring. He stood up on the tiny deck and did a few stretch. Relaxing was hard work after all. "Works out anyway."

With him finally standing up you could get a clear view of what he looked like. The young man looked to be only twenty years old. He stood at six feet tall and was of a lean muscular build, clearly from years of training. Without his hat on you could see his short red hair russell slightly in the wind. His eyes were two separate colors, his left being a dark red, the right a golden yellow. The red eye having a few scars around it. His face was long with sharper features, like a sharp jawline and eyes. He wore a pair of fingerless leather gloves, the one on his right hand also had a rather unusual feather attached to it, a clean white casual dress shirt with its sleeves pushed up to his elbows, he had a set of large caliber bullets stacked in his chest pocket, a thing slender black tie ran down his chest. The initials RR engraved onto the collar on both sides of the shirt. On the inside of the shirt was a black and blue checkered pattern. A yellow strip of cloth was loosely wrapped around his neck, draped on his shoulders like a small scarf. His trousers consisted of combats, which again had bullets peeking out the pockets as well as a strap to hold a small pouch of even more various kinds of ammunition. To finish off his lower half he wore black boots with yellow stripes along the trim.

Some of the more notable features were the two guns holstered to his chest, one on the left side of his chest, the other on the right. Both of the large caliber guns inside looked heavily modified, well looked after and personalized, including their holsters. A tattoo on his right forearm of a detailed and realistic skull and rose growing out of its eyes ran up his arm.

The young yawned slightly after his stretch before picking up his hat and hoping off the shit onto dry land. It had been a few days since the young man had last been on land so it was good to be back. He turned to inspect the boat.

"Fuck," The first thing he noticed was the large rock that had broken through the hull. "How the fuck do I manage these things?" To be honest it was more a lack of sort of management that lead to this but how and ever.

The young man put his hat back on before crouching down at the hole. One glance was enough to say the boat was screwed unless he could get it repaired.

The young man just stood up his crouching position and glanced both ways along the beach he'd stranded himself on. To his left there was just more beach, dunes and plenty of palm trees that swayed slightly in the wind but to his right in the distance there stood a small hut on four legs closer to the dunes and tree line behind it.

"I hope I get myself some help real fast, I don't plan to be here for long." The young man paused, "Not that I plan very much." He had to be honest with himself after all. He paused again before sighing.

"Who am I even talking to…"

Moving swiftly on with that the young man hoped back aboard his small boat to grab a length of rope. He attached it to the bow the boat, unlodged the boat from the rock and dragged it further up the shore toward the beach hut.

As the young man got closer to the hut he saw a series of small boats similar to his in design but just small in size. His boat wasn't big to begin with, maybe being able to fit three people on board but the boats that lay before him were one-man sized.

As the redhead arrived in-front of the hut he saw all the tools, workbenches, crates, cages and fishing rods.

The young man smiled, "Just my luck, a craftsman might be able to fix her right up." Referring to his little boat as a her, as most men tend to do.

He set the boat up beside the workbench before turning to face the hut itself. The only way up was a ladder but off to the right of the ladder was a pulley system used for hauling large objects up into the hut. A fairly clever system.

Not wanting to climb onto someone else's property the young man opted to shout instead. "Hey! Anyone home?!"

It wasn't too loud a shout but it should of got someone's attention but once the young man got no reply he decided to step it up.

"HEY!" He yelled, this time there was an immediate reaction as a audible crash came from within the hut. Although the redhead didn't even acknowledge the sound, he just stood waiting for a reply.

And one came rather quickly this time as the door to the hut swung open and out came an older gentleman.

The older man wasn't wearing a shirt, he went shirtless for the moment which gave you a view of his grey haired chest. This old man was by no means unfit by the looks of it but his age might be getting to him.

The old geezer stood at around five foot, 10 inches. He had long wild grey hair and beard, dull blue eyes and a singular missing tooth. He wore only bright blue surfer shorts and sandals, nothing more.

The old man's gaze settled on the youth on his front _lawn_ , if you could call it that.

"Was that you callin ma?" He asked, his voice rather gruff. He stepped to the edge of the of the platform his hut was built on, examining the man in front of him with a curious expression.

"Would you be able to repair the damage on my boat?" Cutting right to the point. The old man didn't delay either. He hopped down from the platform, which was impressive for his age considering he seemed to be in his late seventies. The fall was well over twelve foot so not bad for the old man.

"First of all, the names Zen. Nice to meet ya lad!" He smiled over to the young man, "Lets check out this boat then shall we?" The geezer moved over to examine the damage on the tiny boat alongside the young man.

"Ahahaha, this isn't damage! Tis but a scratch!" Zen laughed at the weak damage before turning to the young man. "I can get her sailin again no time!" Zen stood up straight, a clear proud smile on his face.

"Really? Thanks Zen. I appreciate it, I'd be stuck here otherwise." The young man replied, giving him a thumbs up. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He paused, "I'm not good with ships but I'm sure I can try." The redhead smiled sheepishly, the fact he couldn't fix a boat when he knew he was going to be on one for a long time was kind of stupid if he thought about it.

"Alright, tell ya what lad. I'll fix her up for ya but while I do that can you do me a favor?" Zen asked as he went to gather his tools which were scattered around the beach.

"Sure, what do you need?" The redhead replied, it was only fair right? Fair trade.

"Ya see that sled with the crates on it behind ya?" Zen gestured to the sled near the ladder of his hut. The redhead glanced over his shoulder to see it.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Ahaha," Zen laughed, "Can ya haul that into town for me. I need it delivered today." He explained, "It's a haul of fresh fish, I was going to deliver it in a minute but seein as I'm going to be help ya out would ya mind takin it to the town for me?"

The young man grinned at Zen, "A fair trade, you help me out I help you out. Deal."

"Whooo!" Zen yelled out, "Alright, I'll get to work on her as soon as possible. You deliver that to a shop in town. It's a shop called _Fresh Cut_ , it has a blue billboard on the front of it, ya can't miss it. Just head further on down the beach to reach the town. By the time you're back your boat ill be as good as new!" Zen chirped happily to himself, you could see he'd rather spend his time working on boats or crafting something rather than hauling a load of fish to a nearby port town.

As the young man made his way over to the sled he threw the rope over his shoulder ready to go but was interrupted by Zen.

"Lad! What's ya name? I didn't catch it!" Zen stopped placing his tools beside the boat as he stared at the redhead.

The young man gave him a tilt of his hat and a smirk, "The names Rangetsu D Ryder. It's good meeting you Zen!"

Zen gave him solid wave, "You too Ryder. One more thing before you go. Be careful in town, there's a marine base up that way. So don't cause too much trouble." Zen stared at him with a knowing gaze which confused Ryder.

Zen turned away with a smile on his face before Ryder took off with the sled. The weight was child's play for him but he could understand why the old man wasn't a fan of it.

As Ryder put distance between himself and Zen, Zen looked after Ryder watching him go. "So, I wonder what kind of trouble young pirate like ya self will cause on a day like today."

A knowing smile on his face, Zen could practically smell the sense of adventure coming off Ryder.

The lad was a tough young pirate in the making for sure, without a single doubt.

He smirked, "And a D clan too. Things might be getting interesting in the world again." Zen gave one last small laugh before turning his attention to the wounded boat.

* * *

It didn't take long for Ryder to see the town in the distance, although all he could see was the pier and the buildings along the shore he knew it was the town he was looking for.

The small journey here only took twenty minutes at best with the speed Ryder was going, he wasn't slowed at all by the extra weight so he made the trip seem like nothing.

As Ryder reached the town he was immediately greeted by lights along the pier and twinkling lights along the shop fronts.

Although it wasn't anything special it wasn't a bad thing either, to see the town decorated in such a pleasant way just to brighten, quite literally, the place up.

Ryder stopped gazing at the town as he sensed a figure approaching, turning to face them.

"Hello," An old woman greeted Ryder. "Would you by any chance have been sent by Looney to deliver fresh fish?" She asked curiously.

This elderly woman was around seventy by the looks of, similar to in age to Zen. She wore an old pale red sundress, simple sandals and a sun hat with a band made of flowers wrapped around it.

Who the hell was Looney? "I'm here to deliver fresh fish from an old man named Zen but I don't know this Looney person." Ryder explained to the old woman.

All Ryder got in response was a short giggle. "Young man, they're one in the same. Everyone in town just calls him Looney, that's all."

Ryder smirked, an odd nickname for sure but hey, it got a laugh out of him so it is what it is. Ryder would have to ask about the origins of that nickname later, he'd bet there was a story behind that.

"So this is from Looney then? Great. Would you mind just leaving the sled over by the shop front." The old woman gestured toward a shop behind her. Ryder examined it for a moment, it certainly fit the description Zen gave him of where to deliver the fish in the first place.

Just as Ryder began to haul the sled over to the shop the old woman spoke up again. "The names Genie by the way. I'm a long time friend of that old Looney you must have met earlier. If you don't mind me asking who are you and how did you end up doing an odd job for Looney?" She asked inquisitively, curious as to who Ryder and how he'd ended up doing Zens work.

"Rangetsu D Ryder," Giving Genie a head nod, "We traded jobs, I haul these crates to town for him while he fixes up my boat so I can set sail again. That was it." He quickly pulled the sled over to the shop, Genie following behind.

As Ryder released the rope he was using to haul the sled a voice called out to both him and Genie.

"Halt!" Turning to the source of this command he saw two marines standing either side of another marine, the two on the sides were armed with rifles and a sword on their hips. However the one in the middle looked to be a Lieutenant. Ryder couldn't tell for sure but by the way he stood ahead of the other two, standing in a more confident posture to the other two.

The lieutenant stepped forward again, "Did you pay the import tax on this?" He smirked at Genie specifically, "You know the rules. All import goods are taxed."

Ryder stood to the side of this conversation, he frowned at how the marine approached and stood over Genie. He was clearly flaunting his status or at least the status he thought he had.

Nobody noticed Ryder place his right hand on his holstered pistol, turning his stance slightly ready to move on the drop of a coin, he just silently observed the interaction between the group.

"Now of this was imported, it was all caught here on this island." Genie defended herself and she was being completely honest as well.

The lieutenant didn't react well to the back talk, "Are you challenging my authority?!" At this point the crowds that were on the street stood off watching this whole exchange. They couldn't really do much to help Genie.

This lieutenant had a short fuse since he immediately went to strike Genie. But before he could his hand got caught by Ryder, blocking it with his forearm.

Ryder had drew both of his pistols the second he motioned for a strike. The whole area went silent as some random redhead stood against a marine.

The short fuse blew again, "How dare you! You son of a-" Shutting him up immediately, Ryder twisted the lieutenants arm out of the way and struck him across the face so hard blood spurt from his nose and he went tumbling backwards across the street.

The whole town looked on in shock at what Ryder had just done, including the two stunned marines left in place. It's extremely rare to ever witness someone attack a marine out right like that.

The only person who wasn't shocked was Genie, she just sighed frustrated at the whole ordeal. Of course she'd have the rough looking man smack around a marine right now, "Just who did you send our way Looney." Genie mumbled to herself among the silence.

Breaking out of their stunned state both the marines raised their rifles at Ryder, "Don't move!" They yelled together but before they knew what hit them a shot rang out, the marine on his left felt incredible pain fire through their leg causing them to collapse to the ground clutching his leg and dropping his rifle. The other marine was quickly dispatched as Ryder appeared between them and struck him across the face with the butt of his pistol.

As quickly as it had started Ryder finished it. Twirling both his guns in hand he holstered his left pistol while keeping a hold on the right.

"Pick on someone who's willing to fight back." Was all Ryder had to say to them, his attention returned to the lieutenant who was staring at him in both shock and fear. Wordlessly Ryder just fired off a shot, hitting the ground at the lieutenants feet causing him to jump from fear.

Ryder smirked at him, "Start running."

With that the lieutenant took off to the marine base all the while screaming, "You'll regret this you bastard!" Clearly going to get reinforcements or his captain in charge, either way Ryder didn't really care.

"A young man with a pair on him I see." Genie stepped in front of Ryder, "Although I'm grateful for your help you do realize what you've done right?" Genie asked, even if she had a feeling Ryder didn't care about consequences.

"Not at all."

Was that seriously all he replied with? Seriously?

"At least you're an honest youngster." Genie sighed at Ryders uncaring attitude. Stuff like that will get the man in trouble if it keeps up. "If I had to hypothesize what'll happen next I'd say that lieutenant will run off toward the marine base further in town, call for help and they'll try to hunt you down and either kill you or arrest you."

The word _arrest_ caught Ryders attention first, "Do they have a prison or holding cells here?" A prison is a good place to find pirates and where their were pirates there was potential crewmates and Ryder was on the hunt for a crew.

"Yes, they do. They hold all sorts there, innocent and guilty. From civilians that bad mouthed the captain or trouble making bounty hunters, pirates and delinquents." Genie grumbled out, she had another feeling, somehow she knew what Ryder would be doing next.

"Is that so?" Ryder smirked, twirling his gun once more. "Looks like I'm going to jail!"

* * *

 **This is my second One Piece SYOC so lets see how well this one goes. There is a form/guide you can (optional: if you have your own form you can use that too) use if you wish to submit a character. I appreciate any attempt at a character given to me.**

 **Please submit characters through PM not a review. Leave that space clean for actual reviews thanks.**

 **Title the message "Seeking Freedom and Revenge - 'Your Character Name'".**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece. All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold- Till the next chapter…**


	2. Chapter 2 - First Contact

**Chapter 2 - Let's Start A Riot**

* * *

Before Ryder could move he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Genie looking at him, an eyebrow quirked at him. Her expression showing genuine surprise.

"Hold it young man," She paused before examining Ryder, giving him a quick once over. Ryder could tell she'd come to some sort of reasoning in her own mind. "Did I hear you correctly? I thought I heard you say something along the lines of throwing yourself at a recklessly dangerous situation."

"I wouldn't call it dangerous, at best it's slightly risky." Ryder attempted and failed to defend himself and his choice of words. By this point Ryder had become the center of attention as the towns people that had witnessed the whole ordeal and were whispering among each other, staring at Ryder specifically.

It's not everyday someone openly challenges the highest authority around, more importantly, someone who just smacked a couple of marines around with not much issue.

Not that Ryder really cared all that much, whatever they had to say about him was none of his concern. Everyone had their own opinions after all, leave them to it.

Genie just shook her head before looking at him with a soft yet analyzing gaze. ' _He's got gusto I'll give him that…_ ' She had to admit the young man wasn't discouraged by danger alone, while an admirable trait it would certainly bring trouble his way.

"You said you're going to the prison on this island correct?" Ryder nodded, "Do you even know the marines that are posted here? You must of heard of their reputation." She had to reaffirm to him how dangerous this was. Although regardless she knew she wouldn't try and stop Ryder from doing what he wanted to do. Who was she to tell him no? However she felt she had to try, after all, she knew why Looney helped the young lad.

"Not a single clue." Came Ryders honest response. "To be honest I don't even know the name of the island. I just kind of ended up here."

Genie gave him a concerned and confused look, "How, may I ask, did you get here then? You came here on a boat right?" It was a fair point too, where the hell did this young man come from and how does he already know Zen?

Ryder just laughed sheepishly, "Well I had nowhere to stay on the last island I was on so I decided to sleep in my boat but when I woke up I was in the middle of the sea with no land in sight." His thoughts went back to his friend that was still on that very island probably worried about him, trying to figure out where he could have gone.

Genie just deadpanned at him, what a way to begin a story. "So you sailed here then? Since you weren't able to find a way back to the island you were previously on I assume so." She expected him to say yes, however…

"Well… I just kind of put up the sail and went back to sleep…" Ryder chuckled to himself. ' _I'm going to be in so much trouble once she finds me…_ ' A shiver shot down Ryders shine at the thought of what **she'd** do to him for this one. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding once those thoughts had passed. Ryder had better prepare for a nasty beating when that time came.

Unbelievable, just what went on in this man's mind?

' _This man has no sense of self preservation…_ ' Genie just sighed in defeat. She doubted her ability to talk the young man out of this so why not return his kindness. He helped her, she'd might as well help him in return.

"A brave man," She mumbled to herself, "I'll give you a warning Ryder. The marine captain stationed here is a real piece of work." She began, Ryder deciding to listen to what she had to offer. "Six months ago a marine captain by the name of Syluk came and took over command of this island. He and his main lieutenant, Reags, showed up with his rough brand of marines and replaced the old captain that was here." Genie took a small breathe, "Since then Syluk has been coming down on this town like a dictator, nobody can stand up to him. He takes anyone who would oppose him and tosses them in a prison cell."

"Is he actually tough or is he just a tough poser that uses the marines to do his leg work?"

"Depends on the issue. If you personal offend him or directly cause him hassle he'll go after you but if you're just causing hassle for others he'll leave his subordinates to do the leg work." Genie explained, she glanced around the town from where they stood as she spoke. "If the other marines heard what Syluk was doing here he'd be swiftly arrested but alas no help has been called. All attempts to leave this island without Syluks permission is prohibited."

Ryder smirked, "Like hell he'd stop me leaving." Ryder stepped in front of Genie. "Do you mind pointing me in the direction of the marine base?"

Genie obliged, gesturing off down the main street. "Follow the natural curve of the town, it's around the other side of that hill."

Ryder glanced in the direction she was pointing. What caught his attention was the large flag pole poking over the hill. Most people couldn't tell from this distance but Ryder recognized the marines insignia on it. A symbol he'd see many times on his journey. He smirked, that's where he needed to go.

Ryder spun around and gave Genie a grateful tilt of his hat. "Thanks Genie, good luck." With that Ryder took off down the street. Leaving Genie alone watching him go.

The townsfolk that had witnessed the whole situation all watched him as he went.

Genie turned away and slowly strolled over to the supplies she had been given. "Where do you find these people Looney." A faint smile formed on her face. "He reminds me of your young one, no wonder you helped him out."

* * *

Ryder quickened his run through the town toward the marine base. Seeing the sights of town along the way he had to admit this town was really nice. Bright, sunny and wide open, a very welcoming atmosphere. Shame is was being somewhat oppressed by some tyrant of a marine. From what he could tell the townsfolk were nice judging from Zen and Genie. Why would a marine base even be stationed on an island like this?

Ryder was going to have a few words with this Syluk guy.

However as he continued along his run he caught sight of some commotion ahead. There seemed to be some frantic yelling and swearing coming from one loud mouthed individual.

' _Well that voice sounds familiar…_ ' Ryder thought as he approached the scene. Once there he was greeted with that lieutenant from earlier telling a squad of five marines to find a young red haired man and bring him to him dead or alive.

Ryder smirked, he certainly knew who he was referring to and he was proud to be the cause of some a commotion.

"You lot bring him to me this instant! Do you understand?!" The lieutenant ordered pointing directly to the front man of the unit.

He was met with a chorus of nervous _understood_ from the five men with one man adding Yerin to the end. Ryder quickly figured Yerin must be the lieutenants name not that he really cared for his name that is.. A quick glance to the five men gave Ryder a brief estimation to what kind of threat they'd be to him. Each one of them was dressed in your average marine uniform, none of them seemed to be physical strong from an outer viewpoint, each armed with a sword on their hip and a rifle in hand. Nothing special really.

"You called?!" Ryder yelled out with an amused smirk on his face, he thought it'd be funny to see how the lieutenant would react.

And it was.

The lieutenant went dead still at hearing Ryders voice from behind him, he turned in an almost frantic panic almost stumbling backwards into the marine unit as he did.

"Bastard!" Lieutenant Yerin yelled, he pointed toward Ryder, "That's him! Get him already you jar heads!" Yerin continued to yell.

The five marines steeled themselves, aggressive looks plastered across each of their faces, rifles trained on Ryder. "Surrender now!" One of the five barked out. You could see Yerin retreat even further behind the group as they stepped forward toward Ryder.

' _How does someone like that ended up a lieutenant…_ ' Ryder couldn't help but think to himself, Yerin really seemed like a poor choice for a lieutenant, why would this Syluk guy keep him around? Ignoring that for now Ryder focused on the marines in front of him.

However Ryder wasn't at all threatened by the guns, in fact he found this to be rather exciting. He slowly lifted his right hand and placed it on the gun in his left side holster.

"Don't try it! We will shoot!" Another marine yelled out cautious of Ryders movements.

"All I want to see is if you lot know how to **really** use a gun." Ryder explained, his smirk turned somewhat devilish, "So who's shootin first?"

The townsfolk all took shelter in their shops and homes but you could still see them, they too were watching all this unfold. Most of them wondering what kind of madman Ryder was to stand up to the marines.

Ryder and the marine unit had a standoff, Ryder waiting to see what happens while the marines carefully observed his movements.

"Fine, me." Ryder quick drew his pistol, his actions immediately got the marines to open fire. Countering them he fired his own pistol, his bullets intercepted every shot the marines fired, the bullets bouncing off each other. Ryder was careful though to make sure the townsfolk weren't in an danger. Every shot hit an open area away from people.

After a few seconds the marines ceased firing from both shock and lack of ammo in their rifles. There stood Ryder, not a single scratch on him, not a single shot hit its mark.

Ryder drew his other gun and twirled the first one on his finger, "My turn."

Ryder charged the stunned marines, he reached the front man before the group could react. He drove his knee into his chest sending him tumbling backwards in a heap. The two marines that stood beside each other were next.

One of them had dropped their rifle and pulled out their sword, charging Ryder. Ryder remained where he stood as the marine swung, he was blocked by Ryder as he crossed his arms into an x shape and caught the blade between his two pistols.

Forcing the sword back the marine was forced onto his back foot, Ryder titled his pistol and shot him in the leg. The marine fell with a deep throaty yell of pain. The marine that stood next to him fell a moment later, crying out like his comrade as Ryder had flicked his other gun and shot him in the arm.

The last two marines fired on Ryder with his back to them but Ryder simply dodged each shot, subtly moving his body out of the line of fire.

A brief break in the gunfire Ryder leapt backwards into the air doing a flip as he did. Mid way through the flip Ryder swung his pistols toward each marine. The one to his left got off lucky, he just had his rifle shot out of his hands. The other, unfortunately, took a bullet to the foot causing him to drop the rifle in an attempt to tend to his new, painful wound. He left the other unharmed so he could tend to his comrades wounds.

Ryder landed crouched on one knee, guns out stretched either side of him, in front of the two marines. He stood up, twirling his pistols has he did, observing his handy work.

' _Wait for it…_ ' Ryder thought to himself, closing both his eyes, bracing himself for something.

He didn't have to wait long.

A shot rang out.

Followed by two more.

The lieutenant, Yerin, fell backwards onto his ass, crawling backwards quickly as Ryder approached him. Yerin has attempted to shoot Ryder in the back while he was focused on the other marines. It failed.

Instead of Ryder being shot Yerin was stunned when Ryder shot the bullet out of the sky mid flight before firing a second, disarming Yerin of his pistol.

Yerin was scared out of his mind, just who was this red haired punk?!

"Tell me," Ryder began, "Who is this Syluk guy?" Yerin saw Ryder pull the slide on his pistol, loading another round into the chamber. "Make it detailed thanks." A smirk on his face, Ryder wasn't fazed at all. He actually seemed like he was having fun.

Yerin froze for a second, sweat pouring down his face. He felt his arms go weak, barely able to support himself. He was brought back to reality as a hand waved in his face.

"Yo Ho! Anyone there?" Ryder yelled out as he continued to wave his hand in his face. "Did I really scare you that much?" Ryder asked, mostly to himself.

Yerin, however, nodded his head confirming he did just that. There was a brief pause between them before Ryders eyes began to sparkle.

"The marines already see me as a threat." He smiled happily to himself, getting both distracted and off topic.

There that small pause Yerin tried to crawl away but froze on the spot again when another gun shot rang out. He spun on the ground to see Ryder looking at him, one of his pistols aimed toward the sky. He'd fired off a warning shot.

"Information about Syluk please." Ryder reminded the cowardly lieutenant.

Yerin swallowed hard, "Alright! Alright!" He began, "I'm going to be in so much trouble no matter what happens." He mumbled at the end.

Ryder holstered both his pistols waiting for the lieutenant to start his explanation. Ryder mainly wanted to know what kind of guy he was, why he did the things he did.

"Firstly, Syluk isn't a marine." While this would be surprising to most people to hear Ryder didn't react. "Syluk is some pirate impersonating a marine captain. To the townsfolk he's a marine captain but to all the actual marines on this island he's a known pirate and killer. Six months ago Syluk and his small pirate group came here in the dead of night ad raided the marine base on this island. We never saw it coming, it was over before it begun. The element of surprise is something to never be underestimated. The old captain was defeated and imprisoned here along with another other marines that tried to fight back. Those of us who didn't or wouldn't fight back no worked him. Some out of fear of dying, others over the threats made against the people."

"Threats?" Ryder questioned.

"Y.. yes, Syluk threatened that any civilian that finds out his true identity would be killed. Any attempts at revealing who he truly was would mean the deaths of the civilian populous of this island. We weren't strong enough to beat him so we wouldn't be able to protect the people of this island. So those of us who weren't imprisoned played along."

Ryder hadn't been expecting this one, one massive hostage situation but the hostages had no idea.

"Alright, thanks for the info." Ryder said, turning toward the direction Genie had pointed in earlier. That should lead to the marine base and also the holding cells.

Yerin was once again shook, Ryder suddenly didn't seem as frightening. It's like he was a different animal when he was fighting, the strength, skill, his look all said he was a dangerous man yet his personality said otherwise for some reason.

During all this the towns people became more bold, they peeked further from the safety of their own homes, observing Ryder and his actions.

"W..w..what are you going to do?" Yerin stuttered out, mostly from confusion.

"I'm going to take down Syluk and his pirates." Ryder openly stated.

Yerin looked taken aback, "Do you have any idea of the repercussions that'll have?! Just who the hell are you to making such claims?!" He couldn't help but yell out.

"Rangetsu D Ryder! Pirate Captain!" Ryder stated proudly giving Yerin a mock salute. "You should get going Yerin, you can go warn Syluk now."

Yerin shakily stood up, looking Ryder directly in his eyes. One look was all it took, one look told him he was deadly serious. Stumbling backwards Yerin took off in the direct of the marine base. The same direction Genie had pointed.

Ryder waited for a moment, seeming to think something over. "Will I be seen as a hero or a criminal for this…" He scratched his chin. "I hope a criminal. I don't want any of that hero bullshit."

As Ryder went through his thoughts he felt a sudden and odd shift in the atmosphere. A silence descended on the street. He heard the towns people muttering and whispering to each other in shock and confusion.

Ryder turned back down the street he'd just came from and saw an individual walking toward him.

The individual seemed to be five foot, six inches tall, his face had incredibly soft features, almost as if it had been sculpted from clay with just the slightest protrusion of its structure from his cheekbones. His lips were rather thin and of a soft pink color while his skin was a light hazel shade of brown. His eyebrows were thin and he had rather long eyelashes with five small dark freckles at the corner of his right eye. His nose was small and rounded, long hair that was styled into wild dreadlocks.

His attire consisted of a black hooded vest that hung down to the center of his thighs both the back and front but splits at his waist along his sides. Underneath the vest he wore a somewhat baggy long sleeved white thirst with thick black stripes going down each of his arms. His legs were covered by baggy black pants with black sandals that wrap around his feet finishing off his attire.

On his back was sword of some kind. The 38" long blade was thin and curved like a katana but double edged like a jian. The tsuba was a gold cross guard that curved upward to straight points like the outer portions of a sai. The handle was wrapped with black wrappings with the pommel being capped with gold. It was held within a crimson sheath with a golden snake wrapping around its length. A beautiful and deadly blade, if Ryder knew anything about blades it would be, he didn't.

However he also carried another weapon. _A wooden sword_. This wooden sword was rather unique looking due to its _blade_ length being between a katana and wakizashi at approximately 60cm. The wooden blade had a bronze guard in the shape of a Sakura flower with maroon wrappings around the handle for grip.

Ryder had no idea who this person was but he tuned in on the whispering. It became clear this person was rather famous because all the people could say were things like, _Is that really him? That's the Lord of the Dead himself! What's a bounty hunter of his skill doing here?!_ And _What's a man like him doing here?!_

Ryder' attention turned back to this individual. That's when he noticed this guy was standing not far from where Ryder stood. His body facing him.

"You lost or something?" Ryder called out to the individual which got some of the islanders to go pale. Not that Ryder noticed them of course.

"You must cease your assault of these marines." The individual spoke out, his voice surprising higher than what Ryder expected. It was hard to pin that as a man's voice when you first hear it.

Ryder didn't respond for a moment allowing the silence of the town pass between them both. "Why?" Was all he responded with.

"I can't allow you to out right attack the marines like this, it's apart of the job. It would be hard to hand over criminals to anyone who isn't capable of containing them." The individual stated pointing his wooden sword at Ryder. "Cease at once."

It was obvious now a fight was about to erupt between the two of them. Ryder could sense this guy was no push over, he had strength hidden behind his exterior.

But all this did was excited Ryder even more. He pulled out both his pistols, twirling one before asking, "What's your name friend?"

"Minos Rex." The individual now known as Rex openly stated. There was zero hesitation in his words as if it didn't matter if his opponent knew his name or not. Some would try to track him down if they lost but this Rex guy wasn't fazed.

Ryder smiled at his attitude, switching his stance. "Good luck Rex."

This wasn't the most conventional way to meet but this would truly be the beginning of a powerful alliance in the future.

But first, a fight was in order.

* * *

 **Sorry for the delays on this story. October and November were just really busy for me and December I have exams. My time was very limited. Hopefully I can get some chapters out for this story. Since I missed out on the last month or so for updates I'm going to try get another chapter out for this story within the next week (Week and a half). To make up for lost time. I'm going to aim to get another three chapters out by mid January so look forward to that.**

 **Thanks to all who submitted characters to this story, again sorry for the delays.**

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece. All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


	3. Chapter 3 - So It Begins

**Chapter 3 - A Swordsman**

* * *

The tension between these two had caused the town to become on edge. The people that watched this exchange were all scared, worried, concerned and intrigued while the whole time wondering how this was going to go down. None of them had ever heard or seen this kid before but they witnessed him dispatch a marine unit like it was child's play but on the other hand people knew of the reputation of the **Lord of the Dead**. Nobody knew who was going to win this match up but most would say the bounty hunter.

"I'll lead if ya don't mind." Ryder stated jokingly before he charged Rex, one pistol aimed behind himself, the other toward Rex. He went for a swift lunge, attempting to ram Rex with the barrel of his gun.

Being surprised by the speed he leaped off to the left causing Ryder to miss his strike. Not letting up Ryder spun backwards on his leading leg and attempted to strike Rex with a spinning back kick.

Rex however blocked the strike with his wooden sword. Although the impact did shake the both of them. A strong kick but an equally powerful block as well.

Rex used Ryders positioning to his advantage and pushed up forcing Ryder onto the back foot in order to recover his stance. Rex dashed forward and swung his wooden blade upward right along the centre line of Ryders chest but it missed. Luckily Ryder leaned back allowing the strike to miss but in order to not fall he had to flip backwards even further away from Rex.

"That was solid." Ryder yelled out happily. He prepared himself again but this time it was Rex who charged him.

Ryder expected him to lead with two side on slashes, which the first was, the first coming from the left which Ryder blocked however Ryder didn't expect a spinning back kick from the swordsman.

The kick landed in the centre of his chest which caused him to skid backwards across the ground, his shoes grinding across the ground. He only went a few feet but it was still a solid strike to an unguarded chest.

Ryder recovered quickly, a smirk formed on his face. "Good hit." He muttered to himself as he saw Rex standing there. Waiting.

"Not going to push the attack?" Ryder asked as he observed Rex. When Rex didn't get an answer Ryder continued himself. "I noticed you're left handed during that brief exchange."

"Your observation during that spout is good. The fact you even notice something so trivial in a fight in noteworthy." Was Rexs reply. "Although that also means you weren't entirely focused on our exchange and I'm not a fan of that." Rex turned his whole body toward Ryder, his sword held in his left hand, slightly in front of him.

"Sorry about that but to be fair. I don't think either of us has gone all out." Ryder replied before leaping into the air, guns trained on Rex. He fired off two shots but Rex swiftly dodged them both, he didn't even turn to look as the shots came at him. He was agile, speed was one of his strong points.

If Ryder had to guess he had a good grasp of haki, color of observation.

Ryder landed on one knee as he saw Rex disappear. ' _Very impressive speed._ ' Ryder thought to himself, once again he flipped backwards as yet another sword strike struck where Ryder once stood.

"Impressive speed." Ryder commented as he landed the backflip.

"Decent reflexes." Rex countered, his tone sounding some sarcastic in nature. Although subtle Ryder picked up on it.

Ryder pushed off his back foot toward Rex, as Rex prepared a strike Ryder met the strike head on. His sword clashing with his guns. They met at a clashing stand still, both men pushing back on one another trying to force the other back. They were face to face during this exchange and that's when Ryder noticed something unexpected.

Both me gave one final effort to overpower the other but all that happened was they ended up both skidding back another few feet.

Ryder smirked at Rex and Rex changed his stance to one that seemed to be rather unorthodox, "Now I'm really impressed, you should of told me."

Rex gave a small smirk of his own, "So you noticed did you? I was wondering if you'd notice or not."

"That's why you dodged earlier without turning your head to see the shots coming," Ryder understood, "You're blind."

Rex didn't relax his stance, "I am. That a problem?" He asked.

Ryder twirled both his guns, "Not at all." Ryder charged Rex, both guns pointed at him. He fired off four times.

While Rex was fast and skilled with observation the shots came quick and oddly spaced out. He subtly dodged the first two by moving his body and twisting it out of the way but the last two he was forced to deflect with his wooden sword.

As he swung to deflect the second shot Ryder appeared to his _dead side_ , Rexs guard wide open for a brief instant. Ryder roundhouse kicked him in the side causing Rex to be the one to skid off across the ground.

Rex turned his body to face Ryder, expecting what was going to happen next. Rexs sword and Ryders forearm clashed once more both men in struggle once again.

"This is fun." Ryder smirked out as he kept up his strength.

"This is challenging." Rex counter, it was more than likely meant as a compliment from Rex so Ryder was going to take it as one.

"Back at ya."

Rex used the opportunity to his advantage, side stepping he leaned out of the exchange and dragged his sword along the ground, once both Ryder and Rexs bodies faced each other again he swung the sword upward but not in an attempt to strike Ryder but to fling dirt into his eyes.

It worked as Ryder tired and failed to protect his eyes, sensing the opening Rex thrust his sword toward Ryders head.

Sensing the strike coming Ryder leaned his head out of the way but he also managed to dodge the next strike. Rex used his positioning to twist his wrist to try strike Ryder with the pommel of his sword but this also worked.

Ryder quickly countered by leaning below his sword arms, he jabbed his left pistol barrel into Rexs lower ribs. It barely got a reaction out of him but the second strike was the more powerful one as gave him a powerful gut check.

He struck with such force Rex was sent flying backwards. However Rex recovered mid flight, kicking off the ground with one foot he landed somewhat gracefully atop a random, empty market stand.

Rex smirked in the direction he knew Ryder was, "You're strength and skill set are impressive." Rex began, "I can sense your fighting spirit, it's truly remarkable." Which was true, there was something unique about Ryder, Rex knew that for sure. His spirit seemed exceptionally powerful but he couldn't fully understand why this was.

"I could use someone like you on my crew! Want to join?" Ryder yelled out, pointing one gun into the sky casually while the other faced the ground.

"Crew? So you're a pirate captain I presume?" Rex relaxed his stance, complete ignoring his question for the time being, "I should of known, you reek of a pirate."

"Haha, thanks for the compliment." Whether he meant it as one or not Ryder didn't honestly care. Ryder suddenly grew silent, thinking about something.

Rex raised an eyebrow at the odd silence when Ryder erupted to life again.

"Oh yeah, I need to go now. I have to go deal with something real quick." Ryder sighed before holstering one of his guns. "Can we finish this later? I have somewhere to be."

Rex and even the townspeople all sweat dropped at such a request, since when was this a situation where you could call a timeout to do something else. This was still a serious fight between a bounty hunter and a pirate after all.

"That's not apart of the plan here." Rex stated before he realized what Ryder said, a somewhat confused expression appeared on his face, "Wait, what do you mean Syluk and his pirates?"

"Sorry, I'll be back! We can finish this fight then!" Ryder called out before running off toward the marine base. He had to beat Syluk for the towns and Genies sake and see if anyone imprisoned here wanted to join his crew. A prison wasn't the worst place to find possible pirates for your crew.

Rex paused for a moment whilst the rest of the town that had observed the whole ordeal were gobsmacked. What kind of man was he?

Rex sheathed his wooden sword on his hip, his face gazed off in a random direction but he could still sense where Ryder was. He also knew where he was heading, if he was going to confront Syluk he was heading for the marine base.

"You're an odd one." Rex commented to himself, "Strong physically but stronger spiritually." He hopped down off the top of the stand as the townspeople all slowly emerged from their hiding spots.

Rex himself just began to slowly walk off in the direction of the marine base. Ryder had him curious now, let's see where this one leads then.

* * *

Ryder slowed his run to a halt as he arrived at the front of the marine base, a large gate and wall protected the base inside it.

He turned from one end of the wall to the other and could tell the defenses of the fort were the same. Meaning there was no _easy_ way in, not that Ryder was going to take that option anyway.

The red head walked up to the main gate, placing the palm of his hand on the metal and wood material the gate was made of. He smirked, "Nothing too tough." Ryder took a step back.

He struck the gate with a fierce side kick causing it to shatter into pieces, Ryder immediately jumped through the destroyed opening.

Directly across from the gate was what seemed like the main fortress to this base however what Ryder noticed was the building off to the left. A more secure, long structure, Ryder presumed this was the holding cells or prison building Genie had mentioned earlier.

There on the other side were a large gathering unprepared and shocked marines. At least, some of them had to be marines, Ryder noticed how a few of them looked far _tougher_ looking. These are the people were Syluks crew impersonating marines if Ryder had to guess.

So Ryder decided to ask, "Where is Syluk and his crew?" He shouted out across the courtyard, to be honest Ryder was kind of taunting them with that.

"After him!" One of the marines roared out breaking everyone out of their stunned silence. This rally caused everyone to draw their swords and all face toward Ryder.

Ryder just blinked at them all before a smirk formed on his face. He drew both his pistols and crossed his arms in front of his chest in the shape of an X. "It's showtime!" Ryder called out before charging the marines.

* * *

Ryder stood in the centre of the courtyard twirling one of his pistols around his finger. Scattered across the courtyard were a large quantity of unconscious and bleeding marines. It hadn't taken long for Ryder to beat every single one of them into the ground. To be honest Ryder got bored halfway through when all did was repeat the same types of attacks, so the red head started to mess about attempting to get the marines to shoot him so he could see if their aim was better than their swordsmanship.

But that proved to be just as bad.

Ryder pouted slightly, "That wasn't challenging in the slightest, how did this Syluk guy take over this island again?" Ryder asked himself, not that he had the answer to that question. Since Syluk wasn't here it seemed like he was going to have to wait around for him to return.

Wherever the fuck he was…

But the red head also noticed Yerin wasn't here among all these unconscious bodies. He should of followed him right to Syluk instead of assuming he was in his fortress.

His attention turned toward the prison like building off from the main structure. This at least managed to perk him up, he quickly took off in that direction, at least he'd have the chance to recruit someone to his crew in the meantime.

Off atop the fortress wall by the destroyed gate sat Rex, observing Ryder with his color of observation. A cup of locally brewed tea in his hands. He decided to just analyze Ryder instead of join in, besides Rex could tell he didn't even need the help. It seemed rather boring from what Rex could tell, if Ryder was bored fighting them so would Rex.

He just sipped the tea as he sensed Ryder heading toward a building across the courtyard. He presumed Ryder knew he was here, he doubted he didn't, it would have been harder to believe.

Rex turned his face toward the sky for a moment, ' _A large group is approaching from one of the harbors._ ' Rex blew on his tea once before taking another sip, ' _Looks like neither of us will be waiting long for what we want Ryder._ '

* * *

Ryder crashed through the door to the holding cells, skidding across the floor, pieces of metal bounced along the floor. This immediately got the attention of nearly all the prisoners around.

"What the hell was that?!"

"The fuck is going on?!"

"Who the fuck is making all that fucking noise?"

The building was basically a single hallway with holding cells either side, going two stories high. Ryder just strolled down the hallway, glancing through all the cells at all the individuals inside. Each of the convicts stood by their cell doors for the most part, wanting to see who was causing all the damage.

"Who's this punk?"

"What is this fucker doing?"

Ryder just ignored their questions as he looked into all the cells he could. His attentioned first focused in on the locks of the cells, the locks were shit. They could actual be broken easily with a single bullet if Ryder had to guess but the prisoners all had cuffs on inside their cells, so they'd need to get the keys once they got out. By counting the cells Ryder hazarded a guess that there was around one hundred and fifty cells in this building so the amount of prisoners would be the same.

Most of them could be described in the same way for the most part, big muscular tattooed guys with wimpy scars over their bodies.

There were a few odd looking individuals though like one older gentleman, long grey beard, pale blue eyes but yet still well built. This one didn't even approach the bars, he remained seated in the corner of his cell. He only became more active once he noticed Ryder, a look of shock spread across his face.

But Ryder continued along. Another one that stood out, even if he only caught a small glance at them, was a woman. She seemed rather tall, roughly six foot one and lithe, long stringy red hair. For one she didn't even bother to look up, she didn't respond to any of the commotion going on. She was dressed in only a top and long skirt though, the marines must of took everything else off her.

By the time Ryder reached the other end of the hall a lot of the prisoners had begun shouting mostly the same thing.

"Hey! Open the cells!"

"Bust us outta here kid!"

"Hurry up would ya?! Get us outta here already!"

Ryder smirked, showtime!

"Alright listen up!" Ryder shouted, silencing the screams of the prisoners. "I'm busting y'all outta here! After I got a request for yas!"

" **Bulletstorm!"**

He pulled out his pistols and dashed down the hall. To most observers it appeared Ryder ran down the hall and fired off in random directions. Bullets hitting metal rang out throughout the building.

"What the fuck kid?!"

"Are you crazy?!"

A choir of complaints and arguments came from most of the prisoners but they all went silent as each of the cell doors slowly creaked open.

The prisoners all crept out, peering out to each of the other cells in this cell block. All of them speechless for the moment. Even the prisoners that made no mind up until this such as the old man and the tall woman.

Ryder holstered both his pistols, proud of his little show. All the prisoners stepped out of their cells forming one large crowd.

"Alright! I'm putting together a crew and I need members! Anyone interested?!" Ryder called out to the crowd. His question fell mostly on deaf ears.

"Let's go lads!"

"We're finally free!"

"Where the keys to these fuckin cuffs?!"

Ryder just remained stood where he was. He honestly didn't care if people ignored him, people can do whatever they want. So Ryder just waited to see if anyone would take his offer but at the moment that seemed unlikely.

A portion of the crowd pushed out the shattered doorway rather quickly, choosing to get out of this prison before anything else, while others seemed to be running around looking for either their possessions or the keys to their shackles.

Only one person approached Ryder, one of the more unique individuals in this cell block.

The old man. His hair was rather long as if he hadn't shaved or trimmed his hair in months, his clothes torn and filthy and shackles still attached to his arms.

"Young man," He began, his tone and posture surprisingly proper for a prisoner, "What are you doing?" He asked softly.

"Trying to recruit people." Was all Ryder replied with but the older gentleman shook his head.

"Not that, I mean Syluk. Why are you challenging him like this? To go against him like this will only cause him to go after you." The old man explained, his tone showing more concern for the young lad more than anything.

"That's exactly what I want." Ryder replied but before he could continue or the old man could retort a thunder yell rang out.

"What the fuck happened to my fortress?!"

Ryder smirked, it didn't take a genius to know who that was. The red head rushed out the building leaving the remaining prisoners to flood out behind him.

The prisoners that had attempted to leave before the rest of them found themselves stuck in the courtyard cut off from the open gate by a large group of _marines_.

Of the group they all looked rather similar apart from the front three.

At the front were two larger men standing side by side. Ryder could tell from a mile away that this was Syluk and his lieutenant Reags, it was obvious.

Of the two Ryder deduced the one on the right was Syluk. He stood at six foot eight, heavily muscled too. Tanned skin, an eyepatch over his left eye. From his feral frown Ryder could see the gold teeth he had. He wore a marine captains jacket hung on his shoulders, a marine cap, black boots and pants. On his back hung a massive two handed hammer.

Reags must have been the other man. He was similarly built to his captain if only smaller by an inch or so. He dressed similar to his captain too but without the hat and his marine jacket said lieutenant instead of captain though. His weapon of choice appeared to be two knuckle busters on his hands.

To most people they'd be terrifying to fight but Ryder didn't seem that impressed. You could tell those muscles were for show just as much as they were for fighting, the red head knew he could take them with no issues.

When he examined Syluk he actually caught a glimpse of Yerin hiding in Syluks shadow, clearly cowering out of sight of all these prisoners. Or he could be hiding from Ryder specifically.

"Who is responsible for this?!" Syluk spat out furiously, stomping the ground in his anger. "Which of you bastards did this?!"

The courtyard stayed silent, none of the prisoners choosing to respond but that changed quickly.

"I did!" Ryder responded. This got nearly every single prisoner to gawk at him in shock like he was fucking insane. Which was partly true.

Syluk growled before he began yelling, "Yerin!" This immediately got Yerin to shake on the spot, "Is he the guy?!" Yerin must have told him about Ryder and what he'd done before.

Yerin gave him a weak nod of confirmation.

His feral gazed focused in on Ryder, "You little bastard! You're the first one to die!"

He gestured to all his men, "Kill him!"

As all the _marines_ readied to attack Ryder a familiar voice chimed in.

"Enough!" The crowd's attention all turned to the old man that had been locked in the prison cell. Most of the people here found it odd for him to speak up like he was. A few of the marines that stood next Syluk and his men all stood to attention.

That's when Ryder figured out who he was. Ryders natural observational skills allowed him to figure out the old man was the old captain that had been removed when Syluk took over. It made sense, instead of killing him or sending him away it would have been a smart play to keep him alive as both a hostage and a bargaining chip if it ever came down to it.

The older man stepped to the centre of the crowd, picking up a saber off one of his marines that Ryder had beaten earlier. He held the sword with far more competent than the marines he previously had under his command.

"Men!" He began, "I know it must have been hard while you were under the command of this tyrant! But it's time for us to fight back! We can no longer wait for help to come, we must take action here and now!" He pointed the sword toward Ryder, "With this young man's help and our own strength," He twisted the saber toward Syluk, "We can defeat him! Are you with me men?!"

The first reaction he got was a hardy laugh that overpowered most of the noise of the courtyard.

"You're a funny one captain Morris!" So that was the old man's name. "Do you really think you have any men still loyal to you?!" He continued to laugh.

Despite this captain Morris didn't seem fazed by Syluks statement. However, Syluk was about to be proven wrong.

"Now men!" One of the marines that stood among Syluks men turned on the pirates they must have known was dressed among them and struck them with a sword.

This caused a massive chain reaction by where every single person started fighting. A large three way brawl broke out between the escaped convicts, the real marines and Syluks pirates with Ryder standing in the middle of it all completely nonchalant. He saw the anarchy going on all around him yet he stood there so casually.

Ryder seemed to mull something over for a second, "This wasn't what I had in mind…" The redhead admitted to nobody in particular. "At least I started a riot, so that's a plus."

"You!" A thunderous voice called over to Ryder across the chaos of this courtyard. Ryder glanced over to the source of said thunderous voice.

Syluk stood a few feet away from, hammer drawn. "I'll crush you for the shit you've caused!" Syluk charged Ryder, the ground thumping under foot as he did. All those who same him charging scrambled out of his way not wanting to be caught in the pirates path.

Ryder still didn't seem to care so when Syluk swung at him Ryder just leaned slightly to the right and the strike completely missed him.

Syluk continued with another but again he missed Ryder. He tried another three times, each strike missing one after another. Which each miss more and more people began to take notice of the pair fighting.

"Bastard!" Syluk yelled as he held the hammer directly above himself. He swung down, however he missed _again_. This time Ryder stepped back out of the strike, while the blow missed Ryder it struck the ground creating a large crater and a crack to form across the ground.

With the hammer implanted into the ground Ryder decided to strike back, he stepped out the hammer handle with his left leg. He flipped backwards but he brought his right leg up with him catching Syluk in the jaw.

The power behind Ryders kick caused the pirate to stumble backwards, losing grip with his hammer.

By this time a lot of the fighting had stopped as they watched Ryder easily dispatch this pirate. Syluk recovered quick enough, that's when he noticed Ryder just standing there, smirking at him. He wasn't taking this seriously?! And he was making a show of the pirate too!

This only further angered Syluk. He growled like a grizzly bear before grasped his hammer. "I'm going to disembowel you and string you up on the mast of my ship you little fuck!"

Ryder just chuckled at him, "You can try!" He half taunted half encouraged, he also gave him a thumbs up to add insult to injury.

The rest of the people present were gobsmacked, just who the hell was this guy?! How strong was he to be doing that to a guy like Syluk?!

Syluk retaliated by rushing Ryder again, he stopped in front of him and swung the hammer horizontally, his target being Ryders chest.

Ryder jumped on the balls of his feet over the height the hammer was swung, in mid air he spun and kicked Syluk directly onto his face. The impact caused Syluk to lose grip of his hammer once again but this time since he was mid swing the hammer went soaring through the sky into the wall of the main building, crashing through it.

Syluk himself fell backwards from the kick. Everyone waited for to get back up angier than ever but it never came.

The crowd all watched as Ryder just stood there, Syluk laying on the ground in front of him. Everyone refused to move, all them stunned to see Syluk on the ground.

"He was… beaten…" One marine said.

"It's over…"

"How… did the captain lose…"

Nobody could believe a punk like this could beat a pirate like Syluk but he did. One convict decided to shout out above the silence.

"Everybody run!"

All criminal prisoners took the opportunity to make their escape, all of them dashing through the gateway. Most of them actually making it away. Ryder was surprised to see them all actually getting away but from the looks on the real marines faces they were too amazed by Ryder to care at the moment. So Ryder just watched as all the prisoners ran off, he noticed something though, a large bird appeared from beyond the fortress walls, from the positioning the bird had taken off from it meant it took off from within the crowd of escapees.

Next all of Syluks crew immediately dropped their weapons, putting their hands up to surrender. If they're captain was beaten so easily then they had no chance themselves, they were all betting it on him.

All but one.

"How dare you do that to my captain!" Ryder turned off to his left to see the lieutenant, Reags, standing there, furious at Ryder for what he had done to his captain. Reags gazed across all his captains men, "You're all cowards!"

Reags took after his captain and charged Ryder as well, clearly not learning the lesson Ryder had just given Reags captain.

The lieutenant went to punch Ryder but to his surprise his strike struck something else entirely. He only had a split second to notice what it was.

A wooden sword had intercepted his strike and block him with ease.

A moment later Reags roared in pain before he collapsed to his knees before finally falling onto his face.

There, stood between Ryder and Reags, was Rex, his wooden sword in hand. "That was disappointing." He said which got Ryder to smirk at the bounty hunters sudden appearance.

"I was wondering if you were going to join in." Said the redhead.

"I wasn't however someone like this," Gesturing the end of his wooden sword to the unconscious pirate, "Someone as foolishly blind is doomed to fail. I just simply sped up the process." He finished by sheathing his sword onto his hip.

As the two just stood there, both grinning to mostly themselves a figure approached Ryder.

"Young man," The figure began, gaining both Ryders and Rexs attention. The figure turned out to be Morris, followed by a few of his marines. All of them armed as if they were escorting the captain. They'd also given him a marine captains jacket that hung on his shoulders. "You have no idea how much you've help this island today."

"No worries, I was doing it for a friend anyway." Ryder countered quickly, he frowned slightly, "I'd rather not be hailed as a hero, that'd suck." Standing beside him Rex just shook his head, what kind of reaction was that? To be a hero wasn't a bad thing.

Morris chuckled slightly, "May I ask for your name?"

"Captain Rangetsu D Ryder." Ryder introduced himself, you could hear the pride in his voice at calling himself captain. He gave a small nod and a title of his hat toward Morris as apart of his introduction.

"Well Ryder," Morris began, "We are truly grateful for your help this day, without you we wouldn't have been freed from Syluk and we might never have been freed otherwise." Morris turned slightly away from Ryder, "However," He added, "That doesn't excuse the fact that you're a pirate, not only that one that attacked several of my men, injuring them all."

All of the marines shifted at the mention of Ryder being a pirate, almost as if they were actually going to fight Ryder.

However, Ryder and Rex didn't seem all that concerned. For one they hadn't even mentioned Red yet, he'd done nothing wrong so he was more than likely in the clear but Ryder. Nope. Yet Ryder still stood there casual as ever.

"However," Morris turned to his men, "Men! Prepare a bounty for one Rangetsu D Ryder!" He gestured the saber he held toward the fortress HQ, "Get onto the den den mushi, inform other nearby marines of this prison break and to keep an eye out for a young new pirate." Morris turned to face Ryder with a smirk on his face, "Tell them this pirate got a days head start on us."

Ryder smiled at the captain before he and his men turned to leave, heading over to any of their comrades that still might need assistance.

As Morris left he gave Ryder one last goodbye and piece of advice, "Good luck Ryder, you better get moving." With that, Morris left leaving Ryder and Rex alone.

"Well that was an interesting turn of events was it not?" Rex asked Ryder but he got curious when Ryder didn't answer.

Rex couldn't tell but the redhead next to him had that sparkle in his eye again and stupid grin on his face. "I'm getting a bounty."

The amount of pride in that statement shouldn't actually be a think, Rex just shook his head in amusement. Ryder was an odd one.

After that brief moment of weirdness from Ryder both men walked out the marine base, as they put some distance between them and the _scene of the crime_ they started up another conversation.

Both the men noticed the town was kind of in a scramble, must have been all the commotion Ryder had caused. Between the riot, the marines and pirates today was a hectic day, a lot of the townsfolk wouldn't have ever dealt with anything like this before.

"So what are you going to do now?" Ryder began, Rex didn't know it but Ryder was heading back to Zen, he'd hoped his ship was repaired by now. A lot of time had passed so Ryder hoped he wouldn't be waiting long.

"I wanted to talk to you about that myself," Rex answered, "I'd like to go with you for the time being."

Before he could continue Ryder spoke up, "So you've decided to join my crew have ya?"

He was shut down rather quickly however, "No, I'm not join you." Which got Ryder a bit curious but Rex continued to explain. "I want to travel with you for a bit. You've got me curious Ryder, you stand out from most people. So for the time being I want to journey with you, if you manage to earn my respect then I'll consider joining you officially. Do you accept my offer?"

Ryder gave him a heft smack on the back, not that Rex was at all affected by it. "Of course you can sail with me, it would be fun having ya along for the ride!"

Both men smirked at their exchange, "I'm glad to hear it, so when are we setting off?" Rex question his new comrade.

"As soon as we can, my boat was damaged on my arrival so I left it to be repaired." The redhead explain, "That's where we're heading now."

"Let's get a move on then." Rex responded.

That's exactly what they did, Ryder lead the pair back the way he'd come earlier. He was hoping he'd run into Genie again but she was nowhere to be found. She must be off dealing with the chaos in the town. Not getting his chance to say goodbye to her Ryder lead Rex off down the beach, explaining to Rex who the guy was that he left his boat for him to fix.

* * *

Rex stood next to Ryder in front of Zens shack. Rex couldn't tell but Ryder was in shock for some reason. He could sense his surroundings and nothing seemed out of place, so why was Ryder reacting this way?

Zen stood in front of the pair, Ryders fixed boat behind him. Well, to be honest you couldn't call it a boat anymore.

Behind Zen just a little off shore was what was Ryders boat. Somehow Zen had managed to turn Ryders little boat into a fully fledged ship in the time he'd been gone.

The ship was rather big, it had to be at least the size of a typical brig. Full mast and rigging, cabin, beautiful ship helm, he even made the rigging automated so that the helms could use a lever to alter the amount of sail was out, letting the helmsman adjust their speed on the fly. Zen even hand crafted a figure head of a woman wearing a crown at the bow.

"What's wrong kid?" Zen began, a knowing and satisfied smirk on his face. "Not like the repairs?"

"How the fuck did you manage to make that?!" Eventually yelled out, both in confusion and amazement. That made zero sense how something like this was even possible.

"Years of practice kid." Zen responded, the old man was hiding something Ryder could tell but if he didn't want to share his secret that was up to him. Ryder was far too concerned about the ship anyway.

Rex was the most confused, "Ryder? Is there something wrong? Was this not your ship before?" Rex questioned his new comrade.

"Not even close! My old boat was like a small dingy with a sail on it." Ryder explained, "In the space of about two to three hours he turned that half sunk dingy into a brig sized ship."

Now he understood and now that he did Rex couldn't help but be impressed as well. "That's unheard of, you sure this guy isn't pulling our lead? Maybe he used magic instead of actual skill." Rexs tone turned to a more sarcastic one, a devilish smile on his face.

The interaction between these two got a rather audible laugh out of Zen, "That reaction alone almost makes it worth it." He feigned hurt emotion after that statement, "I'm just an old man living peacefully on the beach, do ya not trust me?"

"Why'd ya do it Zen? Why'd you do something like this for me? I didn't really do much." Ryder asked, he honestly felt like he did very much for the old man. All he did was deliver his supplies to Genie for him, that definitely didn't warrant a full ship being built.

"I like your spirit kid, you've got that aura about ya." Zen shrugged, "Besides, I like to help out young pirates." He peeked one eye at Ryder, as if to say he knew all along. "Now be off with ya with young captain, ya took up enough of me time today."

Ryder just smirked at him, "Thanks old man! I appreciate the help!" Ryder paused in his gratitude for a moment, "Hey Zen, why do people in town call you Looney? I met a friend of yours named Genie, she said that's what the towns people call you."

Zen laughed once more, "It's simple lad, I'm just a bit crazy!"

His response didn't fully answer Ryder but regardless he smirked at the old man. "Don't let anyone else take that from you old man!" Both Rex and Zen smiled at Ryders response.

Ryder and Rex both made their way to the shore, ready to board the ship just as Zen gave Ryder one last piece of advice.

"Ryder, I left a locked chest inside the captains cabin. Don't open it yourself. Only allow the crew mate ye decide to have as your shipwright open it. They'll know what to do with the contents. Ya hear?" Zen waved them off with a satisfied smile.

"A fair trade Zen, good luck!" Rex gave a nod in Zens direction as his own goodbye to the old timer. Both men climbed the outside of the ship to get onto the deck.

Reaching the deck Ryder was even more impressed, he just whistled at the work and craftsmanship of his new vessel. Rex was blind but even he could feel and appreciate the work put into this ship.

"Are we just going to stand here gawking at this new ship or are we going to put it to work?" Rex suddenly spoke up as he made his way to stand next to the helm, tapping away at the railings and woodwork as he did, Ryder not far behind him.

Ryder passed Rex and took the helm, he slowly examined each of the components to the helm and the lever next to him.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Rex questioned him.

Ryder didn't respond for a second, "I believe so… I've never manned a ship with an automated sail before."

"You've manned the helm of a ship before?" Rex had to admit, he didn't pin Ryder as a helmsman.

"Yeah, I was thought by someone on my home island." The redhead responded vaguely, it wasn't the most detailed answer to be honest but it was the answer Rex had to accept. "I can sail her no problem."

"Her?"

"Yeah her, the Empress."

Rex leaned against the railing slightly, "So that's her name? The Empress?" Rex sensed Ryders motions, he nodded his head in confirmation.

"Any reason for picking such an odd name?"

"None." Ryder responded, he threw his hand onto the lever, "It's showtime!" The redhead pushed the lever into the right slot causing the sails to unravel and tighten. The ship jutted forward before, Rex and Ryder having to grip the railing and helm respectively, the ride became smooth as the ship eased into the wind.

They were away, onto their next misadventure. Whatever that might be.

* * *

Back on the shore stood Zen just peacefully watching as his latest work sailed out to sea.

"That was kind of you." A voice brought him out of his gaze, turning to the source of the easily recognisable voice he smiled as his friend.

"What can I say, I got a soft spot for young pirates." Zen admitted to Genie as she stopped beside him, her body facing him. Her gaze swiveled toward the ship putting distance on them.

"Shame I missed the chance to say goodbye." She wished she could wished the young lads goodluck on their journey but she narrowly missed them. She was too preoccupied with helping the wounded and the more so frightened.

"I'm sure the lad wanted to see ya before he left to." Zen attempted to comfort her, she didn't really need it but it was a kind gesture nevertheless.

"He reminds me of your youngster." Genie told Zen, "Are you sure that might have been one of the reasons why you help him?" She interrogated him, her side eye glance saying all that needed to be said.

But Zen just shrugged it off.

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't." He plopped himself onto the ground, groaning abit as he did. A fond smile on his face, "Between him and me own young one I'd say the world might be getting a tad bit more interesting in the years to come."

Genie didn't respond, she didn't need to Zen knew he was right. Instead they both just admired the view and watched as the ship sailed off to its latest destination.

* * *

 **Sheaon13: Thanks, hope the next chapter keeps you interested too.**

 **SugarGlazed: Glad you're enjoying the story Sugar. I thought I'd add to Ryders more silly side by giving him that little moment, won't be the last time he does something like that either.**

* * *

 **Told yous I'd get another chapter out soon. Consider it an apology for the delays on the second chapter. With this chapter done this island is done too for the most part so the next arc is coming soon. Between now and the end of the next island Ryder should be getting a number of crew mates and after that there's one island before he makes it to the Grandline. So look forward to that.**

 _ **Note: Someone asked me to describe what Ryders guns looked like in a bit more detail. Imagine two Deagles, painted black, with custom grips, slides, a muzzle break on the end of each barrel. One of them (The gun he wields in his right hand) has a red stripe going along the barrel from end to end, Ryders name is also engraved onto the red stripe as well. (Hope that helped for those of you wondering.)**_

 **Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece. All OC' go to their respective owners and such.**

 **AlcatrazDGold - Till the next chapter…**


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